A Song to Remember

While I agree that the facts of Chopin's life are ignored, film-making of this period didn't focus on educating the public as much as making a buck, and keeping their contract actors busy. However, this movie still holds a special place in my life. It was the first movie my parents took me to see when I was only 4 or 5 years old. I knew nothing about Chopin or Poland or war, but when I left that theater I knew the sound of beautiful music, and the magic of a piano. It led to many years of music lessons, listening to recordings of all kinds from Elvis to Grand Opera, and eventually to raising a daughter who would become an opera singer. So, facts, schmacts - Cornell Wilde was gorgeous, Merle Oberon was beyond beauty, Jose Iturbi was perfection, and the music lives forever.

Although a biography about any composer is a rare gift, even if it's largely fictionalized, this film suffers from some of the most exaggerated over-acting caught on film by an actor.. and that is Paul Muni as Prof. Joseph Elsner. His character is almost embarrassing. It seems as though he was directed to play it to be "comic relief" to Cornel Wilde's "Chopin", which is beautifully performed ... but he comes off more as a buffoon and a caricature than a believable person. The film is saved by Wilde, Nina Foch, Merle Oberon, and a fantastic performance by Stephen Bekassy as Franz Lizst. The piano playing by Jose Iturbi is superb, as expected. The stunning costumes and magnificent set designs, not to mention the cinematography executed in glorious Technicolor make it fun to watch, but what had the potential to be a masterpiece is cut short by the direction and Muni's performance, which seems to be more suited to the Vaudeville stage than to the big screen.

Browsing films in the local library, I noted this film and remembered how much I enjoyed the acting of Paul Muni as Louis Pasteur and Emile Zola and then again in The Good Earth back before the war. This tempted me to take this film home to view. Not Muni's best job but a very good job of playing a strong centered character as the teacher. This was a colored film and well done for its early attempt at great costuming. The long range scenes were poor by todays standard but not enough of them to notice. The high light of the entire film is the splendid piano playing of Jose Iturbi. Just listening to the music alone is worth the movie.

I love this movie. I realize that many of the facts of Chopin's life have been altered in order to make an appealing story which fits into a normal-length movie. Despite this, this movie has much to commend it, starting with the fact that it is filled with some of the best music Chopin -- or anyone, for that matter -- ever wrote (played, I believe, by Jose Iturbi). Also, unlike one reviewer, I find it well cast, and well acted as well -- in the style of the time in which it was made. In my view this movie is characteristic of both the strong points and flaws of Hollywood's golden age.

This movie is about the life of one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, piano composer in history, and Polish patriot, Frederic Chopin. Now, why should someone bother to watch this movie about Frederic Chopin? Let me give you one good reason: the Music. This movie has to be one of the greatest musicals ever produced by Hollywood. This movie is permeated throughout by the music of Chopin, and Chopin's music is wonderful; indeed it is immortal and transcends time. This movie introduces the audience to some of the finest music ever composed. In addition, the story itself is interesting, not only because it's about Chopin and his relationship with Georges Sand, played magnificently by the beautiful Merle Oberon, but also because it poses the question that confronts all artists: Does the artist exist to serve himself or to serve society? Chopin had to struggle with this very question. But first and foremost in this movie is the music. In this movie, the music is the star.